Neighborly Needs
by Animangod
Summary: A chance run-in heading to the bus stop alters their lives afterwards. Set in Thornton/Denver CO.
1. Chapter 1

Waiting at the bus stop was not how Kurogane pictured himself going to work that November morning, but with his car in the shop, really, there weren't many choices. It was much too far to just walk, and unless he wanted to call a cab, which would have been even more costly on top of the repairs, the bus was the best option. Waking up earlier than normal to make it on time to catch the route he'd need to make it to work on time was not exactly pleasant, but it was manageable. It also meant running into his neighbor that he'd never really spoken to before.

The blonde lived across the street for at least the last five years. He didn't know much about the other, except what he'd seen of the other and had heard from the children. There was a car continually parked in the driveway, a VW Beetle, that looked like it hadn't been used since the age of disco, while the pickup truck actually saw some action. He recalled the other was friendly and outgoing, and would sometimes be found playing with the children and animals in the cul-de-sac. He always wore a smile, and sometimes he'd have company over, but he'd never heard of the other hosting any outlandishly loud parties or causing a social disturbance with illegal fireworks or blasting too-loud music, or anything disturbing the peace. No one ever had to call the cops on him. And when a couple wanted to go out by themselves, they'd often ask to leave their children with him. There wasn't a single child in the cul-de-sac that didn't like him.

The children seemed to know Kurogane was more of the reliable handy man and would come over if their toys broke. But if they wanted someone to bake cookies for them, give them a cup of cocoa, a gentle pat on the shoulder and be a comforting listener, they went to Fai. The blonde had said hi or waved in the past, but they had never really talked to each other. Not till today.

That day, Fai was casually holding a bagel between his teeth, as he shrugged his jacket on the rest the way, his backpack slung halfway on his back. For a minute, Kurogane wondered if he was also a college student, but didn't pause to contemplate it long as he had to keep on schedule. Just because he didn't have a car, didn't excuse him for being late to work.

After a couple of moments, he noticed that disheveled blonde was running the same way. It wasn't just the same way; he was no doubt heading to the bus stop too. The small hurry of the blonde concerned Kurogane, and, not wanting to miss the bus, sped up a little to catch up to his neighbor.

Hearing an echo of footsteps behind him, Fai lightly turned and flashed a grin at him, before speeding up more. Kurogane didn't know what overtook him. Maybe it was the hurry of Fai, or the small challenge in that smile (and he was very competitive) , but somehow it turned the distance into a race for the bus stop. Kurogane ran to catch up to the other. He kept up his shape, but he usually didn't get his exercise in running to bus stops. Yet here he was, chasing down a blonde, and trying to outrun him. Fai glanced back at the sound of quickened footsteps, eyes lighting up in some surprise before running even faster. Kurogane, not easily about to be bested, sped up.

Both men raced to reach the bus stop, Kurogane running hard and fast, as if reaching there first was more important than actually catching the bus itself. Hearts pounding, adrenaline and testosterone pumping, the two ran headlong towards the goal: a metallic bench beside a roadside sign, indicating the bus routes that stopped there.

Speeding down the sidewalk, avoiding tripping repeatedly over cracks and the edges of the sidewalk, before crossing the crosswalk to the other side, and running until the edge of the curve that led to the finish line. Closing in on the goal, Fai hopped down and over the railing, his legs springing him back into the race, as Kurogane raced down the sidewalk a small physical divider splitting up the two as the race heated for the final leg of the race. Only twenty feet away. Ten feet. And the competitors were evenly matched.

Yet, at the last moment, Fai pulled back slightly, letting Kurogane reach the destination first. Luckily, Kurogane had his reflexes and stopped in time not to collide terribly hard with the rain stand that stood over the bench. Kurogane was breathing hard, as he claimed victory over winning, but it wasn't exactly a fulfilling victory. His neighbor had just handed it to him, right there at the end.

"Whoo…you move fast for someone of your size. That was definitely a good work out."

Another thing he just remembered about the neighbor; Fai could not whistle. Instead, he said the noise of a whistle. Also, Fai was hardly breaking a sweat, which told him that the man was probably not running as fast as he could. Damn patronizing blonde.

"So, tell me, what brings you to the bus? Actually, what happened to your lovely car? I was really surprised to see you come out of your place, when I didn't see your car there. I kinda thought you went on some Thanksgiving vacation this year."

"Car's at the shop."

"Shame. You took good care of it too, so I'd like to think whatever wasn't entirely your fault."

"Thanks, I guess?"

"Sure; so… where are you off to? Oh, well that should be pretty obvious, I suppose. Work, neh? So, where is your work? Do you know how to get there on the bus? I know the first time I took the bus I got a bit turned about…" the blonde chatted helpfully, more helpfully taking a bite of his bagel sandwich which shut the man up for a minute so Kurogane could process everything the other just said.

"I looked up what routes they said I need to catch."

"Right. Anyway, I think this is the first time we've really actually talked talked isn't it? I know I said hi at least once and waved a few times, but in case you don't remember, my name is Fai. And you're Kurogane, right?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"So, what routes do you need to get to work? Maybe I can help make sure you get the right ones."

"Don't you have somewhere you also need to be?"

"It's fine," Fai flashed one of those bright, kind smiles, "I'm in no real hurry today."

Kurogane swallowed what pride was about to have him say he'd be fine without the blonde being a patronizing martyr, and respond more honestly, cheeks flaring with hints of embarrassment. "Then… that would be …helpful. Thanks … Fai."

"Of course. Anytime."

Kurogane watched that bright smile, as it just lit up the other's face. Fumbling, he pulled out the instructions he'd printed out from off the internet, and let the blonde see them.

Fai scanned the information, taking it all in, his bright smile falling to something a bit more somber, as he took a bite of his bagel, his eyes widening as he looked it over. Kurogane guessed whatever the blonde saw was a bit disconcerting. Waiting until he swallowed to speak, he looked back up towards Kurogane, with worry and concern clearly visible in those cerulean depths. "These are _horrible_ instructions, Kurogane. Unless you're a **God** of navigation and have the RTD Time Gods on your side today, there's no _way_ these'll get you to work on time following _these_ instructions."

Kurogane's embarrassment rose, turning away lightly.

"By the way, how much bus fare do you have with you?" Fai asked in a gentle tone.

"Um, …" Calculating what he'd brought, "I grabbed a roll of quarters. Is that not enough?"

"For where you are going, that's plenty," Fai explained, half relieved that the other had actually gotten change. He still saw many whom hadn't figured out the bus takes exact change only, and come on expecting that the bus driver to give them change for a five dollar bill or ask the other customers. "Now what we are wanting to do is to get down to Market Street Station, and the best way to do that is to take the Express. If you rely on the 6, you might. Depends on if you get lucky and the 6 is behind schedule or the 92 is early."

Kurogane nodded lightly, somewhat understanding.

"Once you get on, you are going to want to get a transfer."

"What's a … transfer?"

"It's this little piece of paper that says you paid the fare for a bus ride. So let's say you're taking the 92, and you want to get on the 6 once you get there, going the same way, then since you don't have a special pass, if you've paid the 92 and show the 6 your transfer within the allotted time frame, you can just hop on. Also, let's say, you are going to catch the 120X down at Thornton park n Ride, then they would take off those nine quarters you paid to get on the 92 from your price to get on since it's a more expensive bus. Then, you pay the difference of the seven quarters."

Kurogane took in the offered information.

"So… should we take the 92 first or the 40X?"

"Which'll get me to work on time, and you to … wherever you're going?"

"Both. Just taking the 92 requires an extra transfer than the 40X. Longer, too. But you would be able to get to work on time. If you take the 92, you'll also need the 120X."

"Then, whatever comes first I guess."

The 40X bus would come first. Fai had finished off his bagel, before moving to lean against the sign casually. Fai had lightly reminded him to get his money out ahead of time, so when the bus pulled up to a halt, both men had their things, and were able to get on in a rather efficient process. Slowly inserting the quarters until the 4$ fair was paid for, Kurogane then asked for the transfer, took the little piece of paper, printed with the current day of the month's number near the top before looking for a seat, the blonde more than encouraging that he should sit beside him, patting the seat right in front of him. Kurogane rolled his eyes, before moving to sit there. Figured shouldn't get too far from the blonde as the blonde was acting as his guide. But just in case, "You sure?"

"Trust me Kuro, … I know these routes like you know your way about your car."

How that was a fair comparison, Kurogane questioned, but seeing as he was familiar with most everything that normally could go wrong, and was able to find ways, even alternative ways to repair it, he guessed Fai must be really familiar with most the routes and how they interconnect. However. "It's Kurogane."

"Ah, but Kurogane is super long; Kuro is much easier, and you still know I'm talking to you." Fai grinned, dismissively waving his hand, "Come now. Just relax and enjoy the view; this is going to be _fun_..!"

"Oh, boy." Kurogane rolled his eyes. Fun indeed.


	2. Chapter 2

002.

Being on the left side of the bus meant that he was essentially on the driver's side, in a position he didn't associate with driving. Fai was sitting so that he had the view a driver would get, if he weren't driving, and Kurogane was sitting perpendicular to that. There also were no seatbelts or harnesses on the bus; the closest thing were handgrips and the armrests. Kind of like school busses.

Fai had lightly crossed his legs, his gaze shifting out the window, "Ooh, hey, look Kuro, some people have got lights up."

Kurogane turned in the seat to get a better view of whatever the other was talking about. Driving, he'd never taken the time to really look at those things, but right now he wasn't driving, and looking wouldn't affect the vehicle's performance. So he looked.

The sky was still dark out so the light-up star on top of the person's house, lit with those LED blue lights, was quite visible. Otherwise, dangling on the gutters was a string of those old-fashioned C9 lights, all in clear white. And a few houses down had the variety lights on a pine tree in their backyard. There were some hectic drivers, heading to the stores. What do you expect the day after Thanksgiving?

Fai was lightly tapping his foot as he idly stared at the glass window, watching the scenery pass by. After a few moments, Kurogane looked at the other passengers. There were two others currently on the bus. One was a middle aged lady, who was wearing a lanyard with a pouch and a monthly bus pass visible in the front pocket through the clear sleeve. The other was some kid who looked like just barely old enough to be out of high school, who was seated in the back, listening to music through a pair of headphones.

Turning at 104th, the 40X headed down that street, picking up more passengers as it went. At the third needed stop, Fai stood up as the bus came to a stop. Kurogane looked at him curious. This wasn't Market Street, was it? "Wheelchair, Kuro. Cmon let's make room for him." Fai mentioned as he folded up his own seat. Kurogane turned to look out the right side, and sure enough, there was someone in a wheelchair. The bus driver was lowering the lift for the patron, and Kurogane rose out of his chair, which Fai folded up too, before grabbing his bag and moving to sit in the seat behind the seat he had, until just recently, been occupying. Kurogane grabbed his own things and joined Fai in the seat.

Kurogane noticed Fai check his phone, frowning only briefly, as he bit his bottom lip, before he put it away, and returning to putting on a smile in its place.

The ride was smooth, and passengers only seemed to get on, totaling twenty people on just the bus before the bus drove onto I-25, driving towards the HOV lane.

Fai stared out the window on the other side of the bus. "It's nice not to be amongst the rush hour crowd. When you ride the bus, instead of driving, you don't have to stress out over the constant stop and go. Plus it's more ecologically friendly if you aren't carpooling." Fai muses lightly.

Kurogane stared at the traffic with Fai, remembering being a part of the same scene not too long ago, and how if he had time, he preferred taking the back roads. They were less noisy, less crowded and much more relaxing before work than just what Fai was appreciating not being apart of. "I'd prefer to have my car."

"I'm sure. If you had your car, then Kuro could choose to take the bus if he wanted, instead of rely on it."

When they got to Market Street Station, Fai stretched his arms before grabbing his bag. "This is our stop, Kuro."

"Stop calling me that; it's Kurogane."

"Tsk, tsk… You're not that perturbed by it, are you? I mean, if I really annoy you that much, after today, you never ever have to hear from me bothering you ever again. Deal?"

"…you don't have to do that." Kurogane quietly muttered.

"What was that?"

"I didn't say anything," Kurogane said looking away.

"Was that Kuro being shy? How sweet; the growly toy mechanic can be extra cute."

"I said I didn't say anything!"

"Now now… no need to raise your voice; cmon, let's keep heading to your work. You still have your transfer with you, right?"

"Hn," Kurogane grunted, following the blonde.

It was a short walk to the next stop, with Fai more or less leading the way, and tugging friendlily on Kurogane's arm or hand, over to the stop.

The second bus was a local/limited route that would intertwine with some of the same pathways of the 6. However, Fai had no intention of having them get on the 6. Both could get Kurogane to work, but he had his reasons to not let Kurogane ride the way he had plotted out via the Internet.

***  
One 15L bus ride later…

As Kurogane disembarked off the bus at the CenterPoint and Sable Park n Ride, it was only about a twenty minute away of a walk for the two of them to arrive at his work, the blonde still in tow. Making quick work of the path, soon he stood in front of the shop. Kurogane turned to face Fai, "Thanks for the help getting here."

"Like I said, it was no big deal. Actually, I was wanting to head this way anyway. Well then, I guess I should leave you to your work." Fai smiled at him, taking a step back, "When do you get off? Maybe I can come back over and make sure you get home okay?" Fai said, although it sounded more like a question.

"I usually get off at six or seven, depending," Kurogane says.

"Right," Fai said filing that tidbit away. Fai smiled before waving at the other and beginning to walk off.

He was about to respond when his boss came popping out of the door, and began to examine him. He glared at her, "What?"

Yuuko quit her examination of her employee, seeing as he didn't even appear at all injured or dirtied. "I see you were able to make it Kurogane. Glad to see you made it all in one piece."

He turned to his boss, "Does everyone think I am unable to ride a bus to work or what?" he asked no one in particular.

"What are you saying, Kurogane? The girls and I were deeply concerned about your safety. You did say you were going to take the 92 and then the 6 to get to work."

"Change of plans," Kurogane said curtly.

"Well, it's a good thing you did. Did you hear about what happened?"

"What do you mean? Heard about what?" Kurogane asked confused.

"The 6 you said you were going to catch was in a terrible accident thanks in large part to the Black Friday shoppers. Many of the people involved got seriously injured or killed."

"_What_?!"

"Seriously … I'm surprised you didn't hear about it," Yuuko said. "So what made you decide to change routes?"

"That is… that blonde…" Kurogane recalled how said blonde, who by now had disappeared, had seemed deeply disconcerted by the data, and had said that those instructions would not get him to work on time. Was it possible he had known ahead of time about the bus accident? Was that possible? The questions nibbled at the back of his mind about his neighbor. Questions rose steadily. If he really wasn't in a rush, why hadn't he taken the time to get his things together instead of running out the door half-dressed? If Fai hadn't known about the accident, what was up with that look on his face? And Fai's readiness to help him even on his return trip home … did he have nothing better to do than to help him out? Or had he actually had plans but postponed, even cancelled them for his sake? From what he'd gathered from the cul-de-sac children, their general consensus was Fai was a kind and hardworking individual who was "never too busy" if someone came to him, or that no one was a bother to him and that "it's fine because he's doesn't mind". Kurogane quietly tried to push the thoughts about his neighbor away, and not worry about it right now. Now wasn't the time.

"So, your blonde friend convinced you to take a different route, huh?"

"He's not my friend; he's just someone who lives across the street."

"Well you made it here in one piece and on time, so that's all that matters I suppose." Yuuko turned around and walked back into the store. Kurogane said nothing before heading into the shop behind the witch.

Fai casually strolled into a small bookshop nearby, and perused the contents, spending time looking through the books, and reading them, checking out their conditions before returning them back to just where he'd found them. After quite some time spent perusing and waiting, he went to the counter to pay for a book, handing over some cash for the aged book. Placing the book in his backpack, Fai left, and made his way to his new destination. He avoided the crowds and the stores with their Black Friday sales. He stayed in the more subdivision area as he walked there. Fai slowly stepped through the automatic doors, making his way to the reception desk. "Excuse me," he greeted the receptionist, a lady with long black hair, "I was hoping to know… are either Yui or Chi Fluorite here?"

"And who might you be?" the receptionist asks.

"I'm their brother."

"May I see some identification?"

Fai pulled out his ID card, and passed it to the lady. The receptionist looked at the driver's license, before handing it back. Fai placed it back into its proper place.

"Let me check…" the young lady typed in some information into the computer, before pulling up some records. "It appears that Chi Fluorite is checked in at our South office."

"And Yui?" Fai asked.

"There do not appear to be any other Fluorites checked in."

"Alright; thank you for the information. I'm going to head over there then," Fai said smilingly, before leaving the place. He needed to go catch another bus.

Once on the bus, Fai checked his cell again, biting his bottom lip at the lack of text or missed calls. He anxiously began tapping his foot, forcing a smile on his face as he returned his phone. He could just hope for the best.

After arriving at the South office, Fai requested the same information of their front desk receptionist, and checked in. Receiving the whereabouts of his younger sister, he was about to head on up when he was stopped by one of the doctors there. "Mr. Fluorite…may I see you for a few minutes?"

"Yes…what's this about?"

"Please follow me. This is something I need to speak to you in private about."

Fai nodded, and followed the doctor, wondering what it was that he needed him for. His gut told him it wasn't anything good. And his gut and intuition rarely betrayed him.


	3. Chapter 3

003.

Six came by and went, and as seven fast approached, so did Yuuko with a bottle of booze. "You can go now, and thanks for your work today."

"Right," Kurogane said before packing up what few things needed to be packed and headed to the front door. "See you Monday."

As he gets outside into the crisp autumnal air, he takes in a deep breath before being greeted by a blonde's voice. "Oh, Kuro, there you are." Fai was smiling and seated nearby the entrance, his bag beside him and his hands holding onto a to-go cup. "How was work?"

"Fine," Kurogane said, "How long have you been there?"

"Mm. Only a small while. I just left over there, about twenty minutes ago," Fai says pointing over to a place where he could have gotten the drink.

_A small while, he says,_ Kurogane thinks to himself. Then, the next thing he noticed, "Wait…where's your coat?"

"Mm? Oh, … see I came outside a while ago from somewhere, and set it down…. Then forgot to pick it back up and when I came back, it was already gone. … It's fine, really," Fai said waving off the fact that because of the fact he had no coat on, he was really cold, goose bumps quite visible on his nearly bare arms.

Setting the cup down for a moment, and slinging his bag back onto his shoulders, Fai grabbed his cup tight again between reddened palms, and stood up. Fai grinned at Kurogane. "Well, shall we head towards the bus stop then?" he offered.

"Yeah," Kurogane said.

Fai nodded, before heading the way to the Park n Ride, walking beside the other man. Fai kept a rather subdued gait unlike earlier's race. Probably had something to do with not wearing a coat in the late fall… or perhaps it had something to do with those eyes. Kurogane wanted to ask him about earlier that morning, but something seemed, different, maybe? After the walk, Fai turned to Kurogane, "The 15L or the 6 to head home? Which would you prefer? The 15L will require three busses either way while the 6 will require two but the wait will take longer. With the 15L it'll be about 9:30 by the time we get there, give or take fifteen minutes. With the 6, we'll get there about quarter after 10."

"Don't care," Kurogane responded, letting Fai decide. Fai knew the system, after all.

Fai sat down to wait in front of the 15L's gate, slipping his bag off again, still holding onto his to-go cup. Kurogane settled down too, for the moment, glancing again into those blue eyes. Fai noticed and after a little bit turned to better face Kurogane, "What's up?"

"Your eyes…"

Fai blinked, "What about them?"

"They look like you've been crying… they're all puffy red."

"Ah…! Really?" he said eyes getting a bit wider, and becoming a bit restless, "Oh um, I-I'm sure it's just the weather, y-yknow. Mother Nature can get awful bitey and stingy … and the wind whipping about," Fai said with a weak chuckle. Who was he trying to fool?

Kurogane snorted. "Look you don't have to say if you don't want to; just don't lie about it. I hate being lied to," Kurogane said with an annoyed look.

"Sorry," Fai said with a smile, his face growing soft and apologetic, "The bus should be here in about ten to fifteen minutes."

After a minute or so, Fai heard shuffling before Kurogane dropped his jacket over him.

"Kuro?"

"You need it more right now."

"Um … thank you," Fai said softly, shifting his drink to one hand at a time to put the coat on properly, before clasping the drink in both hands. The coat was much too big, but it was warm.

***  
One bus ride later…  
Stepping off of the first bus, Fai smiles as he waits for Kurogane. After that, it was a tiny walk to catch the free mall shuttle, to Market Street, and then a seven minute wait before the next bus showed up.

***  
Once on the 92, Kurogane sat down first, taking a seat by a window, before Fai sat down beside him. The ride was slow, and Kurogane had already found himself drifting.

"It's alright, Kuro, if you would like to take a power nap. I'll be sure you're awake when we get a lot closer," Fai spoke in a soothing voice.

"Hn," Kurogane said, leaning back slightly, before closing his eyes, his breathing slowing down.

Fai sat up straight and watched ahead of him, only every so often sending a few sideways glances at the hulk sitting right beside him. Nervously, Fai gently, slowly, began to sidle closer before he put just a little of his weight onto leaning into the other. A small surprise as Kurogane's arm shifted, wrapped around a boney hip, pulling him closer. Fai smiled, leaning a little further into the unconscious embrace. Whether either said anything, they both needed that.

The ride was easy, and within fifteen minutes, they were back on Colorado and heading north.

"Kuro… Kuro, rise and shine." Fai gently nudged the other's shoulder, "Time to get up; we're almost there."

Kurogane's brow creased, before his eyes slowly opened, snapping awake with a small jerk. Looking about, he was still on the bus, and beside him Fai was still sitting, but twisting most of his torso in front of him, and wearing a small warm smile on his face. Kurogane glared at him, "What?"

"Well good morning to you too sleepyhead," Fai said in a friendly tone, that smile quirking to something playful and amused.

"It's not morning," Kurogane responded flatly.

"However that doesn't change you are a sleepyhead," Fai said playfully, gently poking at Kurogane's chest with his index finger. "And that we're almost at our stop."

Kurogane swatted lazily at the finger before sitting up straighter. "That was fast."

"You were asleep." Fai moved back so that he wasn't invading Kurogane's personal frontal space bubble, and stretched lightly. "Well, it's after nine… Do you have any plans for dinner?"

"Maybe heat up a frozen dinner," shrugged Kurogane. He was never much for cooking.

"No Thanksgiving leftovers?" Fai asked curiously.

"Nah, never bothered to work up a big deal. It's just me after all."

"Then…why not come over to my place for a little bit? I could… fix you up a plate, if you'd like."

"Why?"

"Well if you really don't want to…"

"No, that's … why do _you_ want me to come over?"

"Hm, well …" Fai said musingly, before making a teasing grin, "when you hold me and whisper sweet nothings, it's hard to refuse you."

"I did nothing of the sorts," Kurogane said bristling up defensively.

"Oh but you did. Well I guess maybe your arm had a mind of its own and it wasn't really _your_ breathing and beating heart I heard when you were taking your nap but the person right behind us having a very vocal body instead." There wasn't anyone behind them. In fact, the only other on the bus right then was the bus driver.

"…moron," Kurogane muttered looking away.

Fai leaned over and smiled at Kurogane, "Most call me fun loving, but I spose if it's you that works too." Then, Fai gently tugged on the rope to let the driver know they wanted to get off at the next stop. "Kuro better get your things ready. It's time to get off."

Fai stood up, replacing his backpack over his back while Kurogane gathered his own things before the bus pulled to a stop. The two disembark before the bus pulled forward and drove off towards Summit Grove. It was dark out and the street lights weren't all working but working well enough. Fai glanced about a little, mentally debating to just cross near there or go to the light most a block away. There were hardly any drivers around as most the people stopped the madness about noon, and dwindled down to regular driving a few hours prior to the time the madness of rush hour would have hit. Now only a few night owls were left and a few others going about their business.

"Wanna cross here or up there?" questioned Fai lightly.

"Whichever."

Fai made a small hum as he checked the traffic for spacing and timing of the vehicles that were still going about. After a few more cars passed, there would be a large break in traffic, aided by the lights also turning red. Fai began to cross the street, Kurogane only a few paces behind, and having not noticed the small patch of black ice on the asphalt, Fai stepped on it and slipped a bit, losing his balance.

"Waah!"

"Whoa!" In that moment, Kurogane caught up, reached out and grabbed the other with his free arm, supporting the blonde from a bad tumble. Fai took a moment to regain his footing and slow his heart. He looked down briefly at what it was that he stumbled on, now seeing the shimmer of the ice in the dim light. Then, remembering they were still in the middle of the road, and even though it was pretty lax, they still needed to finish crossing. Fai tugged lightly on Kurogane's hand to continue crossing, until both were safely on the other side of the street. Reaching the other side, Fai let out a breathy chuckle. "Well. Today sure has been full of its ups and downs… Thanks for catching me."

"Yeah," Kurogane said dismissively.

Fai grinned before the two walked slowly towards their street, walking through the subdivision, with Fai once glancing upwards to gaze briefly at the dimly lit starry sky. City often had that effect on the sky to make the bright lights dotting its existence look dull and washed out. The silence that came with the walk was comfortable and easy, before arriving at Fai's house first. Fai tugged his key out of his pocket before unlocking the door, letting himself in, and shifting his bag off his back and resting it on the couch on the other side of the railing separating the entryway with the upstairs living room. Kurogane followed him in.

Turning around, Fai made a teasing grin, "Ah, did Kuro walk me home? … or were you wanting something _more_?"

"You're still wearing my coat, moron," Kurogane pointed out.

Fai blinked twice, before raising his arm as if to see it better, staring at the sleeve, "Ah… so I am."

Unzipping it, he slowly removed it before folding it up a little, hugging it before giving it over to its owner. Kurogane took it, putting it under his arm.

"Well, that's that. Is Kuro interested in staying a while and having dinner, or a plate to go, or will you just be heading back home?" asked Fai, and the linger in his voice made it sound like he didn't want Kurogane to leave just yet.

"Are you sure it's fine?"

"Absolutely!" Fai said putting out a bright grin.

"Well, if it's okay, I guess I could stay for a little bit."

"Splendid!" Fai said before sauntering off to the kitchen to pull out leftovers. With his head in the fridge, he quietly muttered something, but Kurogane didn't quite catch what he said. Then Fai spoke up, "Do you have any food concerns or allergies I should know of?"

"Well milk and overly sweet stuff don't really agree with me, but I'm not actually allergic to anything that I know of."

"Right…"

Kurogane looked about the living room where he stood, the kitchen in front of him, separated by a low wall. To his left was a hallway and to his right was a TV setup with an older game console plugged in. Shelves lined the divider between the kitchen and living room and were filled with books that a young child might read like Clifford the Big Red Dog and The Magic Tree House series. They were neat and very well organized. A box of toys took up the corner with a giant stuffed polar bear wearing a green scarf leaning over it as if to guard the box. The TV stand with its assortment of music, movies and games was also orderly and … alphabetized by what they were for. The corner held a comfy looking armchair with a plushed up bean bag chair on its seat. The sofa near the window looked aged but well-tended, with the nearby walls consisting of white and crayons doodles, and the couch directly facing the TV had two cushions on it, Fai's bag and a homemade afghan, a table pulled up close by with a coloring book opened and a pink crayon between the pages. The floor was a shag carpeting only littered on by small traces of dirt, a couple splatters of paint and grape juice, and a knocked over crayon box.

"That's the kiddie corner," informed Fai, setting out food on his marble countertop, "Bathroom's down the hall, first door on the right, if you need to use it. Go ahead, make yourself comfortable. I'll have dinner out and available in a few."

"Right." After that long, he could go. Taking up the man's offer, he placed his coat on the armrest and his things beside its side before walking over to the supposed bathroom. One person must have thought it amusing because a hand-drawn picture of a litter box with a cartoonish cat was tacked onto the door. Inside was about as … tactful. It wasn't a big bathroom, consisting of a tub that stretched along the entire back wall. Nearest was the toilet and then a sink with an under cabinet. It was simple and small, without being claustrophobic. Bright cheerful curtains, soft palsy colors, and the sink barely decorated with a bottle of Baby Detangling Spray, a bar of soap that had a hint of lavender to it and a container of Softsoap that had a sticker on it saying buying this product is supporting some WWF knockoff wildlife support non-profit organization. The animal on the front was an otter. He quickly took care of business, noticing a small plunger, bowl wand and toddler training seat behind the toilet. The guy definitely expected kids over.

Once finished and washed up, Kurogane left, noticing the room across the hall. The door was shut, but on its door was another doodling, this one of that same cartoonish cat chasing what appeared to be a cartoonish computer mouse in that similar style. The room at the end of the hallway had another cartoonish drawing tacked onto its door. It held a different drawing, a tall black cartoonish cat sitting up next to a bed with seven little kittens sprawled asleep on it.

The door was cracked open, and curiosity getting at him, he peeked in. Opening the door more, it revealed the place to be a bedroom with a large king sized bed, shelves containing linens. The bed was a fabric-made mess, piled over with thick comforters, pillows and more blankets, and the room had a dresser on each side of the bed, one with a light, alarm clock and a pink hairbrush and the other a photo frame that was knocked face down. It had a window on the far side. There was a few chairs of the fuzzy fold up variety set up in the room. One was knocked over. Again, the room had some stuffed animals wandering about, along with some other toys in a corner, a doll house and some push cars. Against the wall, he noticed a few folded up cots and a crib. On the headboard, there was a small collection of books. Some comics and manga and a few heavy readers, like the Grimm's fairy tales and A Collection of Campfire Ghost Stories. Walking over, he gently picked up the knocked over photo. Through the cracked glass, he could see a picture of five people. All as blonde as the next. Even the tiny little infant in the picture, who was laughing happily and being adored by a blonde whose face was cradled into her chest, wrapped around the one behind her and a pair of like hands wrapped around the infant, supporting her, a soft smile and closed eyes. The other two might as well be the parents, as they had an elderly but still youthfulness to them, and were hugging the three. A big family group hug. He returned the picture to how it had been before he left and returned the door to its mostly shut positon.

Kurogane walked back, as Fai shut the fridge door. He was wearing that same smile as earlier, and Kurogane wondered if that was the same one he wore around the cul-de-sac children. Not that he really _cared_, mind you, but he was curious. At the sound of Kurogane's return, Fai turns around and smiles brighter. "Hey Kuro. Food is out. Help yourself. Is there anything you'd like to drink? I have some diet sodas, some juices, water or I could brew up some coffee or tea. Of course, I also have egg nog, milk, almond milk, sweetened lemonade and sugary sodas, but you said milk and sweets aren't really your thing, so…" Fai makes a tiny shrug near the end, "What would you like?"

"Uh…water…would be… just fine." Kurogane felt a little overwhelmed by Fai and his … overhelpfulness.

"Ah… sure." Fai could take a hint with some things, and toned down some of his overexertness, going to his cupboards and pulling a glass down before filling it up with water. Turning around, there was Kurogane, "Here you are."

Kurogane took the glass, "…thanks."

"Mm… So, shall we? Plenty of food to go around. Ah, but you should get the food you want to have warmed up first. They did just come out of the fridge after all."

Kurogane figured that was one of those rhetorical statements, and didn't say anything. He took a drink of the water.

"Well… you can go first."

"It's your food."

"…but I'm the host. And hosts go last. Or snack beforehand. That's the rule."

"Since when?"

"Since ever." Fai grinned, before grabbing one of his plates, and it looked like a finer china than someone who had kids over on a regular basis would keep about, and passed it over. "So you know, there's ham and turkey for meat, mashed potatoes –and gravy for gravy lovers, stuffing, green bean casserole, creamed corn –but you might not like that-, cranberry sauce, rolls –and butter and jam for them if you like, yam bake –and if you want, you can just scrape the marshmallows off and I'd eat them for you if you don't like them-, there's a Jell-O dish –it's not a really sweet one, so maybe- and of course apple and pumpkin pies for afterwards."

"I … think … most of that was self-explanatory."

"It may've been," Fai answered with a grin, "But saying it out loud makes it real."

Kurogane paused for a moment, considering Fai's choice of words; _saying it out loud makes it real_. It was definitely not normal, he concluded; like not saying something, he didn't have to face the truth, that it wouldn't be so if the words were not spoken. Sounded like a coping strategy and he thought to bring it up later. First, might as well get something to eat.

Kurogane took a little bit of everything to try it, noticing how most of it looked barely touched, if it had been touched at all, while Fai poured himself a glass of egg nog, idly commenting, "I normally would have heated everything up to the right temperature, but I wasn't up for it tonight."

"Any particular reason?" Kurogane asked casually.

"Well," Fai said elongating the word, "it _is_ pretty late for having dinner around here. Usually, we try and have dinner a bit earlier than now."

"Hm."

"What about you? Do you normally eat about now?"

"Sometimes," Kurogane answered placing his plate in Fai's old-fashioned microwave oven.

"Because of the late hours?"

"Yeah. That and I don't like to cook all that much. Maybe do it once or twice a week."

"Do you use a crockpot and make a bunch of meals at once?"

"Does chili count?"

"Chili most certainly could count. Chili's great when it's done well. You can add Fritos or hot dogs in it or macaroni and cheese to change it up."

"Guess we're both pretty hungry if we have food in front of us and are talking about more."

Fai chuckled, a small gurgle echoing quietly, "Hahah … guess so."

Setting his drink down and grabbing a second plate, Fai went over and began to fill it up with food too. After a couple of minutes, both men had food, and relocated themselves to the kiddie corner as the table was covered up. Fai slid his backpack off the couch before sinking into the furniture, his food and drink set down on the table prior to settling in. Kurogane settled for the corner nearest his coat and things, leaving the middle cushion between the two.

Fai quietly gives thanks for the meal, while Kurogane does the same in a different language.

"Japanese, correct?" asks Fai before taking a bit of his potatoes.

"You know Japanese?" Kurogane says with some surprise, eating the meat first.

"Well, the family thought we should be … well-versed. 'Fraid to say, it is one of the subjects I let get rusty, but we find it is a pretty language."

"Who's 'we' ?"

"We?" Fai asked a bit surprised.

"You've been saying we, instead of singular. But there's only you here. Who else is this we you keep referring to?"

"Oh, that… um…" Fai began. He had a fleeting thought to lie, but seeing how swell that worked last time, resigned the idea. He let out a weak shrug, "Force of habit." Which was true but didn't delve into excessive personal details. Which made Kurogane think it might be a touchy subject for the blonde.

"…sorry for bringing it up. You can just say it's none of my business if you don't want to share."

"Well, then…what of yourself? …You kind of remind me of a … of a father."

Kurogane sputtered on his own food, "W-where'd that come from? Do I _look_ like I have children?"

"Well no, but…you're not exactly _social_, but so good at fixing things, and you help out the children when they bring you their broken toys. Although you complain about my nickname for you, you still put up with me today … and the children _know_ I'm the cul-de-sac Mommy. Seems that you're private and reserved, but easily embarrassed. A hard worker who gets what he wants, a bit rough around the edges, but… kind." Fai takes a small sip from his egg nog, "That last snow storm, you're the one who snow plowed the sidewalks during the snowstorms, probably complaining that it'd be a pain if the owner was too lazy and left their sidewalk buried, or that since you'd already started, might as well just keep doing it."

"W-w…what would you know about that?" Kurogane said looking away obviously a bit red in the face.

"Mm … can't say much. Most of it is just neighborhood children talking. You know how kids are. Plus, it's hard to mistake you when you're one of the biggest guys around here."

Kurogane merely let out a grunt, neither agreement nor disagreement.

Dinner was slow and unhurried as the two ate dinner together, mostly in quiet with some small dialogue exchanged between the two of them, like what they did for work, and favorite things to do when they weren't busy, and each other's homes –to a degree, or the topic of family came up and they began discussing the children nearby instead, before Kurogane finished first, seeing as he'd gotten a smaller portion than the blonde. After dinner, each had a small slice of the pumpkin pie, Fai's heavily topped with whipped cream.

"What do you want me to do with these?" Kurogane asked referring to the plate and silverware in his hands.

"Mm, if you're finished, just rinse it off and stick it in the dishwasher."

Kurogane did so, before noticing the guys clock. He'd guessed maybe the guy had a thing for tooney cats as it was that black cat with the swishing tail for a pendulum, eyes darting back and forth with the seconds –really, Fai had recently said he just loved animals, especially cats. The hands on the clock –and not its paws, showed that it was just past ten at night.

Although neither had work in the morning, Kurogane wasn't comfortable sleeping over with his neighbor, when his house was just across the street. And as Kurogane made to leave, Fai saw Kurogane to the door. As Kurogane was about to leave, Fai bit his lip, before speaking up. "Sorry…about earlier."

"Huh? About what?"

"About your schedule, about lying to you…I'm sorry I lied."

"Wait … you lied to me?!"

Fai flinched, looking away.

"Well?! Did you?"

Fai squirmed, his fingers clenching his pant legs, before his shoulders fell, "….kinda."

Fai didn't dare meet the other's gaze, "My brother and sister were planning to be on that bus. Really, we actually were planning to meet each other near where you work, yknow, at the book store over there."

Kurogane stared at Fai, not sure exactly how to classify how he was feeling about the man at this particular moment, but he knew he was quite upset. Kurogane spoke through gritted teeth. "Why did you do it?"

"The 6 was going to be in … a massive crash. I tried calling them, but it wouldn't connect; I wanted to warn them it wasn't safe, to get on a different bus, but even my texts went unanswered …I waited at the store for them just in case they did somehow get the message but didn't respond, because their phone died or they were late getting out… After…I found out where they sent the injured, and went to see my sister… she was physically protected from those who cared more about sales than human life. But," Fai swallowed tightly, looking towards the ground, "…my sister isn't completely fine."

"_You_."

Fai looked up, meeting Kurogane's eyes, "I'm really sorry I lied to you, but… I couldn't think of anything better at the time to make sure you didn't get on the same bus without sounding like some weirdo or just crazy. I couldn't protect my brother or sister, but I didn't want anyone else to get hurt either. And…because of the accident, it really _wouldn't_ have made it on time."

He was definitely being sincere there, but some things didn't quite add up. The bus crashed _after_ Fai had told him not to get on it. "How did you _know_ the bus was going to be in an accident?"

"As…stupid as it may seem to someone of ration to guide him, it was because of a dream last night. That… that particular 6 bus got in a huge accident, because it was involved with a mall."

"And you stopped me from getting on that **particular** bus…for a _dream_?"

"_Hey_, it saved your life, didn't it? …And you still got to work on time."

The little details were beginning to settle in, like that disconcerted look earlier, and for a moment, Kurogane wasn't sure if he felt more like slugging the guy hard in the jaw or giving him a great big bear hug. He settled for somewhere between the two. Bundling his hand into a fist, he dropped it heavily on top of Fai's head, instead of a good clocking like he felt more like giving. "That's for lying."

Fai winced, his hand coming up to rub his sore scalp, before Kurogane tugged at his neckline in a tight fist, and he had to stand up on his toes not to get choked by his own collar. He tensed, almost expecting Kurogane to try and hit him again.

Kurogane leaned forward, and gave a small kiss on his forehead, small and brief, "…and that's for trying to keep me safe."

Fai was shocked and looked up at Kurogane with wide eyes, "Kuro?"

"Next time, try and just be honest with me from the get go. I really hate being lied to." Kurogane let go of Fai, before stalking over to his own house with his things.

After a moment, Fai relaxed for a moment, as what just happened and what didn't happen sunk in. He grinned wildly, "I'll do my best, Kuro-cutie…!" he called out loudly, using his hands like a microphone.

Kurogane froze, in astonishment and embarrassment and some defensive rage. He turned around and hollered back, "Don't _call_ me that!" He was glad it was dark, because his face was definitely red. Fai just waved happily.

"I'll see you later, Kuro-pumpkin pie," he called out before retreating into his house.

"…stupid idiotic moron," muttered Kurogane, before continuing home. He unlocked his door before dropping his things near the entryway, and putting his coat away. Locking back up, he got ready for the night, before he dropped onto his bed. Today had been a very long day, and he wanted nothing better than to head to sleep about now. Grabbing one of his mangas from under the bed, he quietly read in the safety of his house, until he could feel sleep claiming him. Moving the volume back to its hiding place under his bed, he shifted slightly, getting comfortable before he fell into a deep sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

004.

It had officially been two weeks since that day. Two weeks since Fai had put an imprint on his life. Two weeks since the lies and the accident and the leftovers and Fai. Kurogane hadn't seen Fai since. Not that he was _looking_ for the blonde. He _definitely_ wasn't trying to think of how to thank him and apologize to him. He definitely wasn't _spying_ on his neighbor's house for activity (yet the only activity seemed to be neighborly children walking over and being disappointed that he wasn't available –he always seemed to leave the door open when the weather was fair or the curtains open when the weather wasn't, when he was available. Like a giant Welcome we are open or Sorry we are closed sign). Kurogane had his car back now, and that Saturday, decided he should pay a visit to see Fai's sister. And in the process, maybe run into the blonde. Except, he didn't know the blonde's last name or his sister's name. And going in there with that much information would really make for a fun conversation. "Yeah, hi, I'm looking for this blonde's sister. I heard she was in an accident two weeks ago on the bus.' Okay so what is their name and his connection to them? Let's see… he's been neighbors with Fai for the last five years and the day after Thanksgiving, he lied to him to save his life, and …yeah, that was really _not_ going to work. But, you just don't save someone then disappear off the radar. Especially if you live right across the street. The thought that maybe he'd be at the hospital or wherever his sister was had been a pertinent thought. But shouldn't he come home _sometime_? If nothing else, the pumpkin pie is only good for so many days before it goes bad. It was possible that he came home during the daytime when he was at work, but the children gave clues that they hadn't seen Fai either.

And the more the blonde wasn't there, the more he took in details, recalling as many as he could (when he wasn't busy working, because the Witch is not paying him to daydream about missed golden opportunities, and when he figured out just what she meant, he defiantly declared he was _not_ before storming down the hallway, which resulted in the girls laughing at him behind his back.) Smaller details came to him, like how Fai had mentioned both a sister and a brother were going to meet up with him, but only mentioned his sister when he spoke of visiting, later mentioning both he was unable to save. So what was up with his brother? Or was that one of those 'if you say it, it becomes real' things so something was up with the other's brother but by not saying it, he didn't have to face the fact that his brother was … what, though? Never showed up, wasn't with his sister, was with his sister, but … wasn't anymore? And he'd said his sister had been protected, but wasn't completely fine. So, psychologically traumatized, maybe? Was mostly okay, but still suffered physical damage?

What he'd seen of Fai's upstairs, he'd made it a place for children to come over, and when he was in the kitchen, getting food, he' noticed the guy's back yard and a giant tarp over what might be a giant built-in swimming pool, with a deteriorating fence. Apparently, taking care of his yard hadn't been his forte as much as his house. There was stairs going downstairs, with a childproof fence blocking them, and a door at the bottom that was closed shut. There was no silly cartoonish drawing on that door. But beyond a few noticeable things, there was very little … personal belongings of Fai's he saw upstairs, which alluded that the guy's private home life most likely existed in the downstairs space. He hadn't gone into what he guessed would be the office space, but he didn't even notice a single piece of mail lying about. It didn't seem what was personal was open to intrude upon much. Except for that photo frame that had been knocked down and the glass broken. A happy bundle of blondes. He wondered what had been up with that photo. Had Fai intentionally knocked it over and broke it, or was it a mere accident, being in a hurry to get out of the house as he seemed to be that morning?

Five years of having him as a neighbor, five years of not having to deal with him, and then one day spent with him, and he couldn't get the blonde out of his head. None of this overthinking helped though, as he went to his fridge to inspect what he had available. Without the blonde there to answer the questions, all his thoughts were just pure speculation that may or may not be even close to the truth. Kurogane frowned, as he noticed the lack of much anything left, realizing he'd have to cook soon. And go shopping. He began to get ready, grabbing his wallet, his cell, his keys, and thinking about what he wanted to make this time, when he had to pause in his train of thought.

_Knock knock knock._

Kurogane set his keys down, and went over to greet the door knocker, hoping it'd be Fai and after he opened it, he was feeling stupid for feeling disappointed when it was just Tomoyo. Then felt bad for thinking of her as just Tomoyo. Tomoyo wasn't _just_ anyone. And why the hell did he want it to be Fai anyway? The blonde was too cheery and blonde for his own good. "What is it?" he asked the preteen.

"I was just wondering… have you heard from Fai lately?"

"No…I haven't seen him in a while."

"Oh…do you know when he'll be back?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"Because you were the last one with him."

"What do you mean I'm the last one with him? I'm sure he's been with plenty of you brats lately." Actually no he wasn't quite sure of that. But, why wouldn't Fai spend time with them? Unless he had some personal business that kept him away, he was rarely ever away for long periods. And two weeks was a long period for the other.

"Well…Fai called me this past Sunday, and thanked me. He said that he got to 'spend some quality bonding time with Kurogane', thanks to me. And that Friday after Thanksgiving, I was having a sleep over at Sakura's, and she pointed out you leaving Fai's house. Which we thought was pretty unusual then, as you've never given Fai the time of day. And then after Fai's call," she said then giving a casual shrug, "…I thought you might know."

"Well, I don't know where he is right now. For all I know, he could be out sipping soda, petting some kitten, or at the hospital with his sister or frickin in another continent. I don't know; why would I care where he is?"

"Wait … Chi's in the hospital?!"

"Wait - who's Chi?"

"His baby sister of course. You didn't know?"

"He told me he had a sister and a brother, but he never mentioned them by name."

"Chi and Yui mean everything to him. Except for his uncle, they are the only family he has left."

Sure didn't seem that way, if that picture he saw was anything to judge by, but at least, now he had an idea of the other's siblings' names. Not to mention that Fai somehow must've lost his parents too.

"Kurogane… can we go see how Chi is doing?"

"_Waitaminute_ … did Kendappa drop you off on me _again_? I'm not your damn babysitter. Go dress up Sakura or go bother someone else," he said crossing his arms. "I have things I need to do."

"Sakura is at the shelter with Yukito and Syaoran," Tomoyo responded diligently.

Kurogane let out a small groan, massaging his temples briefly. Tomoyo did not need to know that he had _wanted_ to in the first place but wasn't sure how to find them because he didn't have enough information on either person to comfortably go and ask to see them. But as her favorite dress up model was not available, he resigned to the ten year old, if only because he _did_ want to and she was asking and it would maybe be _less_ awkward if he had a child wanting to as a reason. "…fine, we can go and check how … Chi is doing, or whatever. But we can't stay all day; I still have things I need to do."

"Yay! Thank you Kurogane!" Tomoyo said wrapping her arms around him in a hug.

"Whatever…but _you_ have to figure out where they are, because I am _not_ about to drive all over to try and figure out where they are."

"Maybe I can get a hold of Fai, and he can tell us directly," Tomoyo thought, pulling out her cell phone. It must've been a newer model her mother's company was putting out. Sonomi was practically tied to her company and doting Tomoyo with the latest electronics they were producing. Currently, she also had a video recorder (he quietly bet that any video on it had something to do with or capturing directly Sakura). Noticing the fast-pace of the dialing, the preteen had to have Fai on speed dial (and why she had him on speed dial begged a different question) but still, he waited beside her to see if Fai would answer.

Fai frowned. It was not the first time within the last few days, the last few weeks, and it surely wouldn't be the last, but making these arrangements, doing all the paperwork, was definitely unpleasant yet he was the only one who could right now. So he buckled down, and forced himself to pay attention to the endless dull sprawls of legal paperwork, listen to hours of belittling conversations, consume enough sugar to kill a hummingbird while managing time to see his sister, making sure she was well fed, and had clean clothes, and cleaned and that the needs he could take care of were taken care of. And a little time to actually go home, and do needed things there.

He was currently sipping a steamy cup of cocoa, laced with melted marshmallows, as he walked through the hallways, returning to the cafeteria for a sandwich, something with some protein sustenance, mentally wanting nothing more than to wallow into a puddle of saline and hidden under a wall of blankets, curling into a ball. But, he couldn't just yet; he had to stay strong. Maybe in a day or two or ten. Maybe a year. Maybe never. Because if he did that, then what would be left of their family? Chi couldn't leave the hospital just yet, and Yui. _Yui_. He blamed himself for it; they'd been fighting, arguing over something petty. He really shouldn't have said some of those things, but they came out and cut, and it was even worse, because Yui was his brother, his twin, and he may have just stabbed that verbal dagger into his own heart because each biting word stung more than the last, each one razor sharp. And he'd… wanted to apologize. He never was able to apologize to him properly. They were going to, he thought, he hoped. Sure, they mostly almost always got along and were great at confusing others with how similar they were (except for minute differences, they could easily pass themselves off as the other), and they had a deep brotherly love for the other, wanting the other to be happy, and they would risk their life for the other, and do anything for the other. But sometimes they fought, and those were fought with verbal daggers and cool cutting voices, and Chi was sometimes the mediator between them. The reason why some of the fights were reconciled. Others were because they were genuinely sorry and didn't want the other to be mad at them anymore. After all, they were _family_ and family looks out for each other. And family spends Thanksgiving _together_. Family spends _time_ with each other for the holidays. God, it was such a _stupid_ fight.

Fai squeezed the cup too tight and spilled some of the burning liquid over his hands. He flinched lightly at the sting, but couldn't care all that much that it burned and hurt, and that his fingers were turning bright red all over again; he was more upset he'd spilled some and wasted it than got hurt. There was a heavy weight in his chest, and things had begun to just feel numb. Numb, numb, and it was all because of him. If Yui had been able to make it over, instead of covering someone else's shift, like a pushover, this would not have happened. If he had gone over instead of taking in personally, this would not have happened. But Yui didn't make it over and Fai became bitter, taking it as a personal insult. Change of plans, he _texts_, not even having the decency to tell him with his own voice, or even give him a heads up, or explain what was going on. Just texts him hours _after_ they said they be there. And he responded emotionally, letting the hurt reply for him, and brother had tried to reason with him, but Fai wouldn't listen, and he wouldn't come, and he just stopped answering; he just cried in a ball from feeling so bitterly angry and hurt and betrayed, but not wanting to hurt him anymore because of his own hurt, curling up on the upstairs bed, in a heap of blankets and remaining emotionally bitter and understanding (understanding that he couldn't change his brother, didn't want to change him, and that it probably would hurt him too that Fai wouldn't come, and Chi would ask and then have to eat dinner almost alone as Yui worked) and turned on his music player, blasting it through a pair of headphones, playing loud angry bitter music, and dinner lay forgotten for hours, as he had lost all appetite.

He'd calmed down after a while, a numbness washing over him. By then, something felt wrong, but he ignored it, blaming it on an empty stomach. He managed to eat a couple of bites, but couldn't muster more than that in effort, before he resignedly picked dinner up. That feeling was still there, and as he wondered about it, at quarter past midnight, he gets that call from Tomoyo, and he forces himself to act normal for _her_ sake. He'd drowned the pain to a bitter numbness, his guts telling him something was off, that something was wrong, but he pulled out his charming card for her. To force a smile on his face as he spoke to her, and act like absolutely _nothing_ was wrong and everything was just cheerfully _wonderful_, and why was she up that late at night, that shouldn't she be asleep. And Tomoyo told him that she had been, but had been awoken by her dream, and she just _had_ to tell someone, and Fai listened to her, as she told him about the dream in vivid details.

It was so detailed, and she was so articulate, that even the time could be detailed as to the location. Fai paid close attention because listening to Tomoyo was much better than the bitterness of his own mind. But everything seemed so vividly familiar, that after Tomoyo finished telling Fai, she thanked him for listening to her, that she felt better after telling him, told him that she was going to try and go back to sleep, and Fai bid her good dreams, because that dream was if anything a nightmare. A nightmare that twisted a knife, where he thought he couldn't feel any more pain that night. And god, he had to check on something. Because it pecked at him and jabbed like a fresh cut and someone was digging the blade deeper and twisting it painfully. And as he double-checked and realized the times to the location and everything just seemed to swell into a black pit, because as everything clicked, he realized that her dream, and his gut intuition were warning him of the same thing, that the concern was the same bus that Yui and Chi were planning to take later that day, if they were going to take it, the bitterness reminded him, but regardless of if they were, they couldn't. They had to get on a different bus. Because he didn't want to see his brother hurt like that, not really. In the heat of the moment, he couldn't _care _if he hurt him verbally, but there was no **way** he would actually _want_ his brother hurt, like _seriously_ hurt.

And so he'd called him. He tried to apologize to him, said he was sorry for not coming and that he didn't mean to say such things, that is was just the hurt and anger talking, but please just don't come on that particular bus. Any other bus would do, just not that one, that that bus wasn't going to be safe. He should've known, though, as it was his brother, and he knew his brother best, and he should have known that that wouldn't work, that he had to reach his brother. But he hadn't been able to reach him, because he just wouldn't answer the phone or the phone was dead or something, but he never answered. Never knew of the peril they were in.

God, he was so passive-aggressive, or just denied his own emotions. Shoved them in a corner, and smiled at the whole world as if nothing was wrong … when everything slowly seemed to be slipping and becoming anything but right. He sighed, leaning against a wall, and just downing the rest of the drink, which wasn't exactly wise, but he didn't care. The pain of the hot liquid sliding down felt much better than a minute ago. His hands burned too, itched with a small shake, and Fai couldn't tell if it was the emotions or the burning that made them quiver. He let out a breath, going to rinse them in some water from the drinking fountain, at least to wash the cocoa off of them. They were probably going to be covered in burns later, but it's nothing he couldn't take. Burns were physical marks. You can see a burn; it's harder to see the scars dug deep in the psyche.

Wiping his hands off on his pants, he looked over to a window, before grabbing that sandwich he'd meant to, and took it outside to eat. He quietly took a bite of it with morbidity, as they only had turkey sandwiches available then. It couldn't have been some reprocessed meat that barely resembled what it came from and tasted like hash; it just had to be cold turkey. After a few moments, he noticed his phone buzzing to life. Setting down the sandwich, he took a moment to remember he would never hear his brother's ringtone, and see his brother's picture, dressed like some pâtissier and Fai-decorated with some frosting and crème and sprinkles, pop up when he felt like calling. However, he did manage an almost real smile when he realized it was Tomoyo, before answering the phone in a cheery voice. "Tomoyo, darling; what a pleasant surprise!" he answered in that happy voice he'd become accustomed to pushing out whether he was happy or sad.

"Fai! How are you?"

"Mm… Not bad, not bad… and yourself?"

"I'm doing just splendid. Say, where are you right now?"

"Mm… lemme check…" Fai said shuffling about some.

"Stop charading you overgrown twig; can't be that hard to know where you are…" grunted Kurogane in a low mutter.

"Shush," Tomoyo chided.

"Ah, well it seems it's the south branch of the Medical Center of Aurora…It's at 1501 Potomac … And what's with that ominous black cloud hovering over your shoulder, Tomoyo? That wouldn't happen to be Kurogane now would it?"

"As a matter of fact, it is… Would you like to speak with him?"

"Ah that's…"

"Lemme see that…" Kurogane said reaching for the phone, but not ripping it out of the preteen's hands, and before Fai can give a response, Tomoyo is passing along the phone to Kurogane.

"Hey."

"Ah, Kuro," Fai chirped pleasantly, "How is your car?"

"She's fine… Where the _hell've_ you been for the last couple of weeks? You've had the brats fretting over your disappearing."

"Uwaah…such a potty mouth Kuro and in front of Tomoyo. Have you no decency?" Fai said chastising the other in playful humor. "Besides, it sounds like _you_ are more upset with me not poking good cheer in your general direction than the children are that I've not been around much for the past two weeks."

"Oh shut it…nothing she hasn't heard me say afore."

"Anyway…what's up? After Friday, I wasn't sure…"

"About that…Tomoyo asked if she can come see your sister, and since her sister dropped her off on me, I just wanted to make sure it was fine and all."

"Ah, yeah…. She can have company over. Ah, you're at home right?"

"Yeah…"

"Think you can grab some leftovers from my place? The food here is terrible. Hospital food, yknow…Though they do know how to make a good cup of cocoa."

"I don't have your key."

"No worries….I hid a spare key in the rocks. Just in case something like this happened. It'll be fine, unless you don't want to of course."

"…what do you want?"

"Mm, well there's a ham bake and some stuff I didn't bring last time… how about those…the leftovers are on the top shelf. The bake is in one of those glass casserole dishes, should be on the next shelf, and anything else is in those child-friendly Tupperware holders or Ziploc baggies. You can grab something for you and the cutie beside you if'n you want to. Just remember to lock up afterwards."

"Right. Then we'll see you in a bit."

"Mm. Alright, take care and we'll see you when you get here."

Fai hung up, and Kurogane passed the phone back to the youth. "Alright. Looks like you can go see Chi but Fai asked if we can grab some of his food before we head over."

"Okay. Shall I get driving instructions while you get the food?"

"Yeah."

Tomoyo headed inside, while Kurogane grabbed his car keys and drove the small distance across the street and pulled up into his neighbor's driveway, parking temporarily. Going over to the front porch, he looked for the key, and if it weren't for knowing about it and where it was, he would have never noticed the small key camouflaged in with the rocks. Picking it up, he unlocked Fai's place, and went to the kitchen. Someone had obviously been there in the two weeks, because there were some noticeable differences. The crayon box was no longer knocked over, and instead picked up. The book was now closed, and set up on one of the shelves. A couple pieces of mail had been sprawled on the table, replacing the assortment of items that had previously buried it, and that photo frame had been moved there, with a couple bandages over the broken glass. White bandages with black paw prints and pink fairy bandages and black bandages with neon green skulls. He recognized the photo despite the bandages as he could still see the bubbly blonde baby's energetically laughing face and traces of blonde. He saw a note written beside it. Lengthy, handwritten, and the first sentence clearly visible. Dear Uncle Ashura. From his own knowledge, Ashura was a very famous name. Famous as in, military famous. It might have been another guy with the same name, although Ashura wasn't that common of a surname.

He firmly looked away from the photo and the letter addressed to 'Uncle Ashura', instead he focused on the food. Reaching into the fridge, he easily spotted the leftovers. Fai wasn't kidding when he gave his description of them. Bright, colorful Tupperware, dated Ziploc baggies, and a clear glass casserole dish filled with scalloped potatoes, ham and vegetables. There was a canvas grocery bag nearby, so he took that, and placed the food in there. Carefully placing the bake in first, he placed the other food on top of it. Keeping it simple, he merely grabbed a bottle of juice for Tomoyo before heading back out. Locking up behind him, he was careful in setting the food in his car, placing it on the floorboard in the back seat. With the food secured, he shut the door to see Tomoyo heading down the sidewalk with a printout folded in her hands.

"Did you shut the computer down and lock up after yourself?"

"Yep; here's the instructions. Did you get the food?"

"Yeah," Kurogane said, gently patting the door he'd just shut. "Climb in."

Tomoyo smiled, before getting into the front passenger's seat while Kurogane took the driver's seat. Before putting the keys into ignition, Tomoyo handed him the instructions, and in return, he passed her the juice bottle. Quickly reading over them, he got the gist of it, and handed them back to Tomoyo for safekeeping, while he revved the engine, before driving off.

"Kurogane…do you think we can get a gift for Chi? You know, a get well gift?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"Maybe some flowers? Don't you think she would like some flowers to brighten up her room?"

"Fine. There's a King Sooper's nearby; we can stop there for some."

"Thank you Kurogane."

Kurogane didn't comment, instead driving over to the King Sooper's parking lots. Getting a good parking spot, he turned the car off, got out with Tomoyo, before locking the car up, and heading in with the youth ten paces ahead of him. Ten energetic Tomoyo paces. Kurogane could easily keep up, but let the child get just enough ahead that even should a car come, he had enough time to get to her side. Stopping in, he grabbed a set of their ads to look at, figuring he'd have time later that day, or tomorrow, to do the mandatory shopping. But that was later's business. Currently, his business was to watch Tomoyo pick out a good bouquet to give Chi as a get well present, as he didn't know the first thing about what flowers to get her or even what kind she might like. Instead, his gaze fell onto the rack of plush animals nearby. There was a plush beanbag like puppy that was white and ice blue with a dark blue ribbon decorated in snowflakes from the looks of it, sitting slumped in the pile. He couldn't help but think of Fai when he saw it, wondering if he would like it.

"…voila!" Tomoyo said excitedly. "I found a good one, Kurogane!"

Kurogane turned to the child, or to where her voice was, noticing the bouquet was full of vivacious floral activity, vibrant colors and a lot of azaleas, and she could almost make her top half invisible behind it. Peeking out from behind it, "Do you like it?"

"It's fine."

"That's not very enthusiastic."

"Tomoyo, trust me; if you picked it out, Chi will love it."

That made Tomoyo smile. "Alright, now let the cashier ring it up," Kurogane murmured, grabbing the dog as he walked closer to the counter, and setting it down with the bundle of flowers.

The clerk had to ask one of those usual clerk lines of "Find everything you were looking for?" Kurogane just let out a grunted 'for now', pulling out his debit card, handing it to the floral clerk. The guy rung the purchase up and charged it to the card before handing it back, giving the courtesy clerk usual line. "Would you like a bag for that?"

"Yeah, for the flowers," Kurogane said. The clerk wrapped up the base of the flowers in one of those festive bags, tying it up near the top of the bag. The bag's only purpose, as far as Kurogane was concerned, was so Tomoyo didn't have a wet lap from the water condensation.

"Alright please come again soon. Hope you have a great day."

"Yeah…you too," he murmured taking his receipt from the guy and grabbing the dog by its scruff while Tomoyo grabbed ahold of the flowers, and carried them outside.

"Who's that toy for?" Tomoyo asked, as they were outside and near the car.

"Somebody else," Kurogane muttered, unlocking the doors, opening up the passenger's for Tomoyo and climbing in his own seat, tossing the toy into the backseat, it landing amongst the food. Tomoyo smiled sagely, before climbing in. Once legal, Kurogane backed out and drove away, heading back down to Aurora.


	5. Chapter 5

005.

(Authour's note: Some details involving the hospital may or may not be fudged, because well, they wouldn't let me self-tour the place. Patient privacy issues, they said. You know how hospitals can be...I did some research on the policies which made me have to change some details, like that young guests are not allowed to not be supervised, and here I was hoping to have Kuro and Fai go on a brunch alone…Oh well.)

About 45 minutes later, Kurogane was searching for a parking spot, finding one after a few minutes of searching. Taking the Visitor's spot, he pulled in slowly, parking it once it was aligned properly.

Grabbing the bag from the back seat, and Tomoyo handling the flowers, Kurogane shut the doors and locked his car, before heading into the hospital. He was greeted by baize walls, a reception desk, a small snack booth and a front lobby waiting area. Fai was seated at one of the four chairs attached to one of the few tables in there. He turned his head at the sound of feet approaching, and smiled at the sight of Kurogane with his hands holding a bag, and a bundle of flowers with its own body beneath it.

"Hey there," Fai called in a cheerful voice, waving a hand at them, and grinning.

"We brought you what you asked for," Kurogane said approaching the table. Tomoyo peeked out behind the flowers, "And a gift for Chi!"

"Awh…that's so sweet of you," Fai cooed in that happy voice, standing up before he clasped his hands behind his back. "Well then, you should definitely check in first, and then we can go and see Chi."

Kurogane nodded, before going over to the admission desk and filling in their info for him and Tomoyo.

"Mm…what a lovely bouquet that is Tomoyo," Fai said admiring the flowers from a small distance.

"Why thank you Fai."

"And how have you been? No more ominous dreams of late?"

"Not in the last fortnight."

Fai smiled an open relief. "Well that's good news."

After a minute, Kurogane returned with the bag, "So … where is she?"

"Ah, Chi is on the second floor right now. Why don't we head on up? The elevator is just up ahead. From here, the cafeteria is to the left."

Moving to the elevators, Fai pressed the up button. It took a moment for the elevator to arrive, and when it did a small group of people was getting off of it, before the three of them could get on. Inside, Fai pressed the number 2 button before the doors shut.

"Fai...are your hands alright?" Tomoyo asked, having noticed that Fai's hands were wearing a pair of thin gloves. "You normally don't wear those indoors."

"Hm? Ah, it's nothing," he says, quickly hiding them behind his back.

Tomoyo frowned lightly. "Please remember to take care of yourself too, Fai."

"You spoil me, Tomoyo, worrying on my behalf. I'm fine, really," Fai said, trying to assure the youth.

Kurogane watched Fai, with a small frown. Seemed that this was actually pretty common with the blonde, for him to try and not cause others worry on his behalf. Even if he was hurting, he would hide it so that others wouldn't worry.

Once the elevator reached the correct floor, the three stepped out as Fai led the way to Chi's room. Chi was sitting up in her bed with a monitor and IV attached to one of her arms, a cast on the other and staring at the wall in front of her, where a TV was hooked up and turned on to a cartoon channel. At the sound of people entering, she turned to the noises before smiling brightly. "Fai! You're back."

"Yup and look who came to see you. It's Tomoyo."

"Hi Tomoyo!"

"Hello Chi. How are you doing? We brought you some flowers."

"Thank you Tomoyo… ! They're beautiful."

Fai relocated himself to the corner, watching the two with a small smile as he leaned against the wall, his hands tucked into his pockets. He was happy to see his sister smiling like that again; Tomoyo seemed to be just what she needed right now. While he could take care of her needs as best as he could, nothing could quite fill in knowing you had friends support you and eager for your recovery. Something he couldn't quite provide for the youth.

Kurogane moved closer to Fai, as he watched the two preteens happily discussing plans and just being cheerful little girls, even if one of them had a cast over her arm, keeping it immobilized, and he swore Tomoyo offered to help decorate it and make it 'exquisite' for Chi.

"Aren't happy children the best?" Fai said wistfully.

"I spose. Better than screaming, whiny brats who can't take no or it's time to go for an answer," Kurogane muttered, and Fai chuckled at that.

"Oh believe me, I wouldn't take the children anywhere if they acted like that." Fai smiled at Kurogane, "By the way, thank you for getting the food for me. I really appreciate it."

"...it was no big deal," Kurogane said, looking away. "Anyway, where do you want it?"

"Would you like to have some now?" offered Fai. "It's almost lunch time."

"Well..." Kurogane began, not wanting to seem desperate for food or anything, but he had gotten a good look of Fai's leftovers, and they did look good, and he hadn't exactly eaten yet.

"Then it's a date." Fai said, before turning to Tomoyo and Chi, "Hey princesses, you hungry?"

"Is it your cooking, Fai?" Chi asks.

"Sure is. Kuro was nice enough to bring it."

"Then, yes please."

"Yes please."

"Alright, let's all head down then."

"Hey...! I didn't say yes."

"Don't be silly; you were being quite obvious that you would like to but don't want to intrude. Don't worry about it. Think of it as my treat for bringing the food."

"...fine."

Down in the cafeteria, Kurogane had set the bag down on a table, while Fai pushed Chi's wheelchair up against the table about to pull the food out so they could eat, when he had to pause for a moment.

"Hmn?" Fai began, noticing the unfamiliar toy inside the bag, and gently taking it out, "What's this? This certainly isn't one of mine," he began, inquisitively turning to Kurogane with a small questioning, innocent head tilt. It wasn't suggestive, just curious.

"That is…" Kurogane's eyes lit up as he mentally facepalmed, as he had forgotten to take it out, before explaining, "well…when Tomoyo was picking out flowers I noticed it, and I dunno, I thought you might like it. I just….wanted to try and …to thank you for that other day, s-so I got that for you. Y-you can do whatever you want with it; not that I care." Kurogane finished as he looked away.

Fai looked at Kurogane with wide eyes, before turning back to the toy. "Oh, he's _adorable_," Fai said with a happy coo, grinning widely as he delicately held onto the toy, staring at it before giving it a big loving squeezing hug to his chest. "Oh, it's wonderful! Thank you, Kurogane. I love him."

Kurogane turned back to look at Fai. Fai was grinning and there didn't seem to be anything superficial about it. He was just genuinely happy, and then gave Kurogane a hug too, wrapping his arms around his neck, the stuffed pup falling onto his shoulder. "Really … thank you."

Kurogane awkwardly returned the hug, patting Fai on the back, "Yeah, ok… You're welcome. I mean it's nothing special or anything, it's just..."

Fai backed off a step with a smile and holding the dog to his chest as if to protect it, to love on it, "Just the fact that you were thinking enough about me to wonder if I would like it and get it, is something special. Almost no one gets me a present because they were thinking of _me_. So this means a whole lot."

"Really?" Kurogane asked a bit surprised. "You haven't had birthday parties with friends getting you lots of things?" Considering Fai's energetic and friendly personality, he kind of assumed he'd have lots of friends over as a kid.

"Hardly. Brother and I didn't exactly have a lot of actual friends. We make friends easily, but they're more …acquaintances."

"I see."

"So … shall we eat?" Fai asked before putting the toy atop his head, its beanbag-like legs splaying about in his hair.

"Won't that fall off like that?" Kurogane asked, concerned that the toy animal would fall into the food, and thus mess up both.

"Only if I want him too," Fai answered smoothly.

Fai began to pull out the food from the bag, the pup managing never to fall off his head, as he set the food on one of the tables in there, spreading it enough that everything had some space. Kurogane watched Fai for a few moments, noticing a gracefulness in his movements, a practiced ease, always aligning his head so that the dog would stay. After a little bit, he looked around, and noticing some napkins and plastic silverware, went over and grabbed a few. All that was missing was a couple of plates.

And as if Fai could read his mind, "If you want to get some, the people at the food counter should be able to give us some paper plates for us."

"Right."

Fai finished opening the foods, and putting the lids in the bag, the girls sitting right next to each other, and Chi's IV sitting beside her on the other side. He gently lifted the pup and held it dangling over his arms, smiling as he watched the other fetch a couple of plates before returning with everything in hand. He then gripped one of the puppy's paws and had it wave at Kurogane for fun, saying in a teasing voice, "Look, there's Daddy; wave hi to Daddy."

Kurogane's good hearing heard the other, and he blushed faintly at the comment. As he arrived at the table he set the things down and commented, "I am … _not_ a Daddy."

Fai chuckled at being caught, grinning at the other, "Thanks for getting the plates and silverware Kuro. Now we can all eat."

Kurogane separated the plates, and handed one to each of them to begin filling up, taking some of the extra silverware he'd grabbed to use to serve the food.

After filling up their plates, Fai and Kurogane walked over to where they had a couple of microwave ovens, the girls sitting patiently at the table and talking, while the men put the food in and turning them on, only able to heat two plates up at a time. "They have much newer model ones here than mine."

Kurogane could tell that just from looking at them. Fai's was considered ancient for technology, from a company that no longer existed. It had to be at least as old as the other's sister, back when things were built to last instead of replaced every six months or so, like a lot of modern things. And it was apparent Fai was not that fond of them, by the poorly disguised sigh of discontent.

"As long as it does what it needs to do, I don't see what the deal is."

"…I guess they suit hospitals. They prefer to get rid of them used and or damaged but still alive, then have to put them out because they are dead."

"Are we talking about microwaves or hospital principles?"

"What?" Fai says, turning to Kurogane with a look of feigned innocence, "_I_ was talking about microwaves; what were _you_ talking about?"

"…nothing."

"Personally, I've had to get used to such short-lived relations with them… I'd prefer the long-haul, long-term commitment. Put in the investment, show that you're serious about having the one in your house and you're with the other for a very long time, until one of you dies."

"Are we still talking about microwaves?"

Fai smiles playfully, picking up the pup to face-level to stare at the other, "I'll leave that for _you_ to decide." He softly manipulated one of the toy's forelegs to point in Kurogane's general direction.

"Seems you're saying a lot more with your words than _just_ microwaves," Kurogane said, "So tell me, … where's Yui?"

"Yui?" Fai said instantly sobering up, and alert, and the toy dog lowering almost immediately.

"Yknow, your brother…where is he? I think I'd like to meet him," Kurogane offered casually.

"I… I'm sure he'd love to meet you too; unfortunately," Fai said shrugging with that plaster smile, and holding the puppy tight close to his chest now, "he left."

"Left?"

"Yeah," Fai said his tone soft and a bit rueful, "he left."

Then, it was much more light, as he turned away and stared into the marble eyes of the dog, holding him up above head level, "He is supposed to come back. I mean, he's the one with legal custody of Chi… A while ago, we were fighting over that…Who would get legal custody of our sister if our Mom was gone. We would barely mince words to the other for a whole month. Now that I think of it, it was such a silly fight. Seems we always fought over petty things… nothing serious – we always agreed upon the important matters, but we would have these petty little fights over things that were so trivial, they were only important then. Like who got top and who got bottom bunk when we were sleeping. Stupid, I know, but those were the types of things we would fight about. Against Brother, he could almost always beat me at chance games, like cards and dice and even coin-tossing. I could hardly win against him. Sakura always beats me too, for some reason, but then again, I've never seen her lose."

Kurogane listened to the other, "Can't say I really know much about that. I was an only child. Not that my parents didn't want more children."

Fai turned back around, bringing the dog back down near his chest, holding it there. He smiled, "So what was Kuro's childhood like?"

"It's … complicated."

"We've got time; I'll listen if you want to share," Fai said in what could be labeled as an encouraging but not overly prying tone.

Kurogane scratched the back of his neck, "Where to start? My folks wanted a family. A big rowdy loud family, with lots of kids. That had been one of their dreams. Big house, big family. But things just didn't work out. I was the only one Mother was able to have."

Fai kept quiet as he listened, watching Kurogane talk about his parents, how sappily romantic they were, about his father, who worked as a police officer, and did the graveyard shift, so he could spend most of the day with his family, who would spend time playing with him and sparring, teaching him about things, and his mother, with her weak heart condition, but a strong mind. A caring and loving mother who would take care of their family, who would worry about when their father left them at night. Even with her weak heart, she always would be there. Although they had wanted a large boisterous family, they were still very happy with the family they had, and never stopped trying to spoil him and nurture him and show him all the love in their hearts, or embarrass him by being complete lovey-dovey saps in front of him. Fai smiled as Kurogane seemed quite fond with strong good memories of his childhood.

"It sounds like you had wonderful parents..." Fai said wistfully. However Fai was not so dull to note that it didn't stay happy like that, and hesitated to ask. "What happened?"

"I was sixteen when they died. Mother had her heart problems, and one night, her heart just … gave out, and she just stopped breathing. The same night, Father died, apparently, he got caught in some deadly crossfire. They were securing the perimeter. Bulletproof vest and shields only protects you so much when the area is rigged to blow. When the police showed up the next morning, they handed over Father's favorite revolver. It had never let him down, but that was about all they could find of him. I pretty much lost it for a little while."

Fai covered his mouth as he quietly gasped. "I … I'm so sorry."

"Well, unless you're part of the gang that rigged the place to blow, it's not your fault. Besides, neither had to suffer for long when they went. That I can be thankful for."

"Still…" Fai said, "it's never easy to lose one's parents … and on the same night too."

"Yeah, well, what about you? You also lost your parents."

Fai smiled wryly, "Won't lie and deny it. Ours are dead too."

"So what's yours?"

"Mine?"

"Your story … what happened to you and your parents?"

"Oh well … you see, Brother and I, we … we were 'military brats'," Fai began.

_BEEP. BEEP. BEEP._

"Ah, their breakfast is ready."

Kurogane pulled out both plates from the microwaves before bringing them over to the table, and setting them down in the open space in front of the girls, before returning to stand by the microwaves next to Fai, where Fai had just finished putting their in and turning them on.

"Sorry about that. You were saying?"

"Mom and Dad met through the service. She worked for the Navy and he for the Marines. They did not get along at first. Always harassing the other, teasing each other and generally giving the other a hard time. Blondes usually get knocked for being dumb, but Dad was a smart one. And Mom was even sharper; Mom always got the last word. Every now and again, it had something to do about 'and who do you think signs your paycheck?' Marines… they get their money from the Navy, so…" Fai chuckled a bit, "Well they eventually evolved from childish teasing to going steady, and well, Brother and I were what became of that. However, we were usually on the go every few months. Unlce Ashura helped raise us too. We knew he was in the service as well, but he was the one that would be there when they weren't. When we were six, Dad popped the question, and when we were ten, they finally got married."

"Wait… so they got married _after_ you were born?"

"Yeah, Brother and I got to help out at the wedding. I was Dad's flower maid, and Mom had Brother as her best man."

"Wai~what?!"

"Oh, right… Mom _definitely_ wore the pants in their relationship, same at the wedding. You should see the pictures! Everyone had a blast… We were in Greenland for the wedding. Then, after the honeymoon in Hokkaido, Brother and I were split up. Dad and Uncle Ashura kept me and Brother went with Mom. Brother got to spend the next eight years in France, while Dad and Uncle Ashura, we moved from country to country about once every other year, until we could get together again for a longer term. Because of Uncle's position, he held great respect in the military, but he was such a fun-loving goofball too; he was just amazing. When Dad wasn't around, Uncle Ashura made it his point to make sure he was for me. He was the best Uncle I could have ever wanted. We kept in touch through letters and over the internet, and it wasn't long after that, that we all just stopped and were able to stay together for two years, and Mom got pregnant with Chi in that time. That was the last time we were all together." Fai paused a brief moment, "After those two years, Dad was called back, and at one point during his duty, he and his squadron got caught behind enemy lines. After torturing them for a few months, trying to extract our military secrets from them, they were nice enough to send the government a ransom note. And well, the US just don't give in to blackmail. They sent in a SWAT team to try and retrieve them, said, if they don't give them back, they'll just nuke them all. Safe to say, Dad didn't make it out alive. Mom took the news hardest. She sunk into depression; began doing opiates and drinking. She died from overdose."

Kurogane listened, and a bit surprised at how similar and dissimilar their pasts were. "Wow… that's …" Kurogane didn't know what to say. "…Damn."

Fai chuckled hoarsely, slowly petting the soft toy with the tips of his fingers, "…Yeah." Kurogane didn't have to say much anything. His eyes said more than words could probably properly vocalize.

Fai decided to change the subject; to something a lot lighter in conversation. "Curious… do you get sunburns easily?"

Kurogane took a moment to process the question he was just asked, as it was a total mind shift from the previous conversation. "Y-yes... why do you ask?"

"Just a guess." Fai said, his gaze looking over what he could see, before meeting Kurogane's eyes. "Your eyes … they're a very pretty shade of red. Red eyes is usually an albino trait, but you have black hair, and have a tan even in winter, so partial albino. So is Tomoyo, with those sagely eyes of hers. Is OCA4 a family thing?"

"I … _what_?"

"Sorry … correct me if I am wrong, but with the Japanese earlier, and your Asiatic appearance, I kind of assumed your family was of mostly Japanese-heritage, and OCA4 _is_ the most common form of albinism in the Japanese bloodlines. But even if I have the wrong OCA, both of your parents had to be at least heterozygotes of the recessive allele, in order for any form of albinism to be passed down. "

Kurogane held up a free hand to try and pause the other. "Just … _how_ versed did you family insist you be?" Kurogane asked.

Fai chuckled weakly as he blushed a bit, looking away as if embarrassed, and Kurogane felt his stomach getting jitters, as if he was in high school all over again.

_BEEP. BEEP. BEEP._

At the beeping, both turned back to the microwaves, before removing their own meals

"When we younger, Dad or Uncle Ashura would begin to read a story but would stop before quite finishing. A chore he had to do or an important errand or the phone ringing, and leave the book there. Well, we couldn't leave it there; we just _had_ to finish the story. He would come back eventually, and make sure to tuck us in. Mom wasn't so kind; she flat out wouldn't, so we made up stories or found a book to read to each other. Sort of just stuck, reading books before bedtime."

"Huh… my mom used to read bedtime stories. 'Cept she would finish the story."

"I can just imagine… small little Kuro, tucked in, your mother sits on the edge of the bed, and then after a story, kisses your forehead goodnight, turns to leave, turns off the bedroom night."

"….spose it was something like that… though the stories always ended with a '…and they lived happily ever after.' "

"That's so cute," Fai cooed.

Kurogane made a light grunt, looking away a bit, not wanting to be caught turning pink due to the comments.

"Why don't we give our girls some space? I'm sure they have a lot of catching up to do."

"Sure. Just can't leave them alone right?"

"All young visitors must be accompanied by an adult at all times. Hospital rules. Yknow how they are."

Kurogane gave a small affirmative grunt. The two sat down at another table, where they could keep an eye on the two girls, but where they could have some privacy to discuss girly matters like best friends and dresses and Chi's recovery. They both gave a quiet thanks before digging in. Fai moved one hand to his lap, where he shifted the pup to rest, while he used just the other to eat.

"So … who is the Witch?" Fai asked after a bit.

"Hm?"

"The Witch. You mentioned a Witch before. Who is she?"

"Oh,… _her._ She's my boss. I'm working for her only so I can pay off a debt and save up so I can go to school for a teaching license."

"How wonderful. Someone who wants to be a teacher. Who do you want to teach?"

"PE. I'm thinking about middle school."

"Ooh, right at the preteen level. I wish you the best. If you would like any help, just give me a ring."

"Isn't that a bit difficult if I don't have your number?"

"Whoops, silly me. Didn't realize you didn't have it." He set his silverware down for a bit and looked about for a moment, realizing he didn't have anything to write with, "Do you happen to have a cell phone with you?"

"…Yeah."

"Mind if I?" he asked gesturing if he could see it.

"Go ahead." Kurogane gave a shrug and pulled it out from his pocket, handing it over to the other.

"Ooh, flip phone…fun," Fai idly commented, as he easily manipulated the lid open. The electronic had been on, but quiet. Fai easily located the contacts folder, as it was a pretty simple design. Easy, convenient, simple. Nothing much but the necessaries. Its most advanced feature was it had the capacity to take photos. Fai was quick, inserting his number into the phone's contact list, before handing it back to Kurogane. "There you are. Fai Fluorite, at your service." He made a mock military salute, before lowering his hand and resumed eating.

"What about you? What do you do?"

"Me? I run around doing odd jobs. Although, right now, I'm preparing for the Olympics."

"For real? That's pretty cool. What sport?" Kurogane said his interest piqued.

"What sport do _you_ think I'm going for?" Fai had to tease just a little.

"Well," Kurogane said his gaze falling upon the other. He was skinny, but not in an unhealthy way, in a lean and limber way. He knew the guy was good on his feet from the impromptu earlier, but that didn't necessarily mean anything. Yet there was still this soft, tenderness about his features. Strong but gentle. But with how aloof he acts, it does leave one to question.

"You look like you'd be good at Cross-country or basketball or a gymnast or ice-skater or something like that," Kurogane said. "You're all… twigly and … fast, and well …pretty girlish for a guy, but still … masculine," Kurogane rubbed the back of his neck.

"Thanks; I'll take that as a compliment," Fai said, "Actually … as good as I am at all of those, this year, I'm going first and foremost as a sharpshooter." Fai then grew a wistful look to his eyes, "The family always did preach about the importance of having a healthy mind and body. Hate to boast, but I do have great aim."

"So… you're a good shot huh?"

"Well, good enough … this will be the fifth time I'll be going to the Olympics. I'm … planning to head to a range I go to for practice tomorrow… if you're interested and not too busy…would you like to come?"

"Huh. Be bugged by my cousins complaining I don't get out enough or watch a world-class athlete. Tough choice."

"Well, family worrying is family caring," Fai said humming lightly.

"You wouldn't mind the extra company?"

"I'd prefer it actually."

"When are you going?"

"I'll be making breakfast for Chi and bringing it to her at about 8 in the morning, so then, get home get ready. Is 10:30 too early for you?"

"No, that… 10:30 is fine."

"Great. I'll pick you up then."

"I live across the street. I could…just walk on over, right?"

"Oh right. Silly me. Yeah, you can definitely do that. Do you like tuna sandwiches?"

"Yeah…"

"Great; I'll make some for tomorrow's lunch."

"Um, you don't … have to if you don't … want to."

"Nonsensical. Besides you don't like to, right? Unless you rather hit a Micky D's instead when we get hungry?"

Kurogane let out a breath. Fai seemed to have his mind set up, and well, he was right. "…thanks."

"My pleasure." And with the grin Fai wore, he'd take a wager that that was true. That making other's happy gave Fai his own kind of happiness. Which made him double recall Fai's hands and how red they were a couple weeks ago. He had thought it was just because he was holding something warm while otherwise chilled. But he had insisted he was fine to Tomoyo, while hiding them. And he'd barely used his one hand. Which made him think it was a ruse, and that they weren't really as fine as Fai said.

"How're your hands?"

"Fine," Fai said offhandedly.

"Really?" Kurogane asked with a skeptical raised brow, studying red eyes.

"Really, they're fine…I'm fine. You don't have to worry about it," Fai said with a nervous smile.

"Why don't you prove it and show me?"

"Kuro, I'm telling you…"

"If they're really fine, then it shouldn't be a problem, should it?"

Fai gulped quickly, before letting out a defeated puff.

"…you win."

He gently lowered his elbow onto the table and offered the one hand, so Kurogane could see it. Kurogane took it gripping it lightly at the wrist, and slowly removed the glove, turning Fai's wrist as he inspected his hand. It was swollen and there were many small knicks, most old and some new. But most notable, there were large trails of bright red flesh, some patches darker than others all around his palm, but luckily no blisters were present. He was gentle in touching it, keeping his attention on Fai's body language, who seemed a bit tense, and looking away, his gaze shifted downwards.

"It's fine…it's just … I just spilled some hot chocolate on them earlier today … it's nothing. I made sure to take proper care so they wouldn't get worse," he murmured in a low voice, as Kurogane finished looking them over before he helped put the glove back on.

"Other hand."

"Kuro…"

"Other hand," he said more demandingly.

Fai took his one hand back, and slowly brought out his other hand, keeping his gaze averted. Before it was fully withdrawn and out, Kurogane could tell it was worse than the other. The glove was stained with some pussy liquid, in at least one spot. Kurogane gripped Fai's wrist just beneath the glove, pulling it closer and looked at it.

"How bad is it?"

"I've had worse…"

"That's not what I asked."

"It's just as red and swollen… A … few blisters. Small ones. It's just a minor second degree."

"Two've burst open. You need to get it cleaned up soon, or it could get infected," Kurogane said in what Fai swore had an underlying tone of concern in his matter-of-fact voice. Kurogane did not try to remove the glove to verify Fai's words, as Kurogane did not want to jostle any more open himself if he could avoid it.

Fai smiled, his gaze slowly returning to the other. "I know. I just didn't want the girls to worry about it. They already have enough worries as it is. They don't need to be worried about something this small."

"Do you let them worry about anything regarding you?"

Fai had to think about that for a moment as he subconsciously grabbed and held the stuffed toy closer. "Not…usually."

"Do you let _anyone_?"

"Mmm, not really… ah-just Uncle Ashura, now that I think about it. Children shouldn't have to worry about an adult's problem, and most the adults I do know are just like modern microwaves."

"What about me?"

"What about you?"

"Am I just a modern microwave to you too?"

"No…no you're… you're more like a dusty old book."

"And how do you figure that?" Kurogane asked raising one brow.

"Well, there's that old book that has just been sitting there for a while and one day, you just notice it for whatever reason, and take it out of the archives, you find out its name and you decide you'd like to take a chance on it, see what adventure that book has within it. And it may make your sad, or it may make you angry and it may make you happy. And you may regret the decision or be glad that you did, but most of all, you took a chance to get to the know the book inside the dusty cover. And I'd … I'd like to take a chance on you, Kurogane, that is, if that's okay with you."

"Can we try being just friends for now and see where that goes?"

"That's a good start. But…um… Kurogane… you're … still holding my hand," Fai said with a small blush.

Kurogane turned quite red and quickly let go, "I'…I'm sorry."

"It'…it's fine," Fai said hiding his hand back into his lap, "but thanks…for caring. I was planning to tend to it after lunch. That is, if you don't mind watching the girls long enough."

"I have to babysit Tomoyo anyway..."

A couple of quiet giggles echoed from the other table, and Kurogane turned to face them better, and hoped they were giggling about preteen boys or dresses or something girly. Tomoyo turned to face him, and the giggling picked up.


	6. Chapter 6

006.

After the early lunch, Kurogane escorted the two girls back into the room, while Fai was quick to get his hand treated. The four then spent the next few hours chatting and hanging out in Chi's inpatient room. The conversations were mostly focused between the like parties, with Tomoyo and Chi chatting about anything and everything, and Kurogane and Fai exchanging stories, mostly about food and sports and hobbies, intermingling occasionally between all four of them, sometimes a comment that led to inquiring and teasing, denial and agreeing.

It was getting late, and visitation hours would be over in the next hour or so, when a nurse came by to check on Chi, and Kurogane declared they needed to go soon. After all, he still had to get Tomoyo home and do other needed things. Tomoyo turned her attention to her older cousin, "Alright." She then turned back to Chi, promising to return and see her soon.

Fai smiled and kissed his sister's head. "I will see you tomorrow, Chi," he promised. "But before I go, is there anything else you need? Anything else you want me to bring tomorrow?"

"Just you and your smile," Chi said with a smile.

Fai smiled at her, tenderly brushing bangs out of her face, "I'll certainly provide that for you."

Gathering their things, mostly Fai's things, the three left Chi so she could rest before making their way to the elevators, and having to wait a few moments for it to arrive. Once on, it was a simple ride to the ground floor where they disembarked. Fai stretched a little as Kurogane moved to sign them out, and getting Fai while he was at it, before they made their way to the doors.

The December air held a certain chill to it, and Fai looked up to the cloudy sky. It was a somber shade of gray, as the wind picked up in a small gust. Kurogane cast a sidelong glance at Fai.

"Do you have a ride home?" Kurogane asked him.

"Oh don't you worry about me; I can always catch the bus; no big deal," Fai replied, mentally debating which bus he wanted.

Tomoyo turned her gaze on her older cousin, and he turned lightly to meet her gaze and could see the silent question in those eyes. He let out a sigh. "Hey."

Fai turned to regard the other, making a small noise of inquisition.

Kurogane made a not-so-subtle gesture towards the lot. "Want a ride home? I mean, have to drop off Tomoyo first and all, but I'm heading that way anyway."

"Well, if you don't mind, then, yes please."

"Tomoyo, back seat."

Tomoyo smiled before walking over to the car.

…

"Today was fun. We should do this more often. Except, maybe with less injuries," Fai declared once Tomoyo was inside her house, waving back at her as she waved out at them from the window, not long before Souma came into view next to her and the Christmas tree in their living room, and Kurogane began to drive off. "So…do you have any other plans for today?"

"Have to do grocery shopping," muttered Kurogane.

"What a coincidence; so do I. I ran out of a couple baking ingredients. Say, what kind of cookies do you like?"

"I'm not a real sweets fan."

"I know, but there must be _some_ kind of dessert that you enjoy. Peanut butter cookies are usually one of the mellower cookies," Fai said trying to think of some other cookies he knew of that were mellow even bland. "Let's see…sugar cookies despite the name…some of them are actually pretty bland…it's the frosting them that makes them sweet, there's tarts… Hmm…"

"Well, there's … dark chocolate, I suppose…it's usually not too sweet."

"Ah! Excellent, then I will definitely find a good recipe and bake you something with dark chocolate for the holidays."

Kurogane decided to just let Fai do as he wanted. If Fai wanted to cook so much, who we he to deny him? However, he was still concerned about the burns on Fai's hands. Kurogane was already a small ways from Tomoyo's house, and out on a main street, when he asked about them. "Will you still be able to practice tomorrow with those burns?"

Fai smiled, "Injuries have never stopped me in the past. You work past them, but make sure to take care of them."

Kurogane stared at the other's reflection in the rear-view mirror briefly before focusing on the road, "You said you needed to go shopping. What store do you go to?"

"Mm, well the King Soopers and Safeway are near home, and it's just a couple of small items this time, but when I need to buy in bulk, then I usually prefer Walmart and Sam's."

"…right."

Getting back into the neighborhood, Kurogane pulled into the Safeway parking lot, finding a parking space halfway down the row. After Kurogane parked, the two men made their way into the store, Fai disappearing off onto the baking aisle. Kurogane grabbed a shopping cart. As Fai said, his demands were simple. All he went there for was a bottle of Pure Vanilla Extract, box of Bittersweet cooking cocoa powder, a bag of mini marshmallows, and a box of Vanilla Pudding and Pie filling. Once he had the four things he was after, he went about finding Kurogane to see if he could help out with his shopping.

Setting his things into the small upper basket, Fai helped Kurogane gather the cans and frozen boxes of groceries he would be needing, taking small note in the back of his mind of Kurogane's preferences, and the lactose-free Almond 'milk' he used and that he just grabbed the cheapest loaf of bread

Once he was stocked back up, he pushed the cart up to the register, and began placing all the goods on the conveyor belt. Fai was about to grab his, when Kurogane grabbed them instead and just set them down with his, idly commenting, "You're making sandwiches tomorrow. I got this."

"Er, that's…" Fai began, before letting out a breath and a small smile, "Thanks Kurogane."

He then smiled a little more playfully, but being a bit serious, "Maybe I'll have to continue cooking up more food for you if you keep this up."

Although Kurogane said nothing, he was not entirely opposed to the proposition.

Kurogane made sure that Fai's were separate, and paid for everything with his card. After, the two helped load the shopping cart with the bags; they were quickly pushed out and placed into the back seat. After the groceries were all loaded up, Fi pushed the cart into a nearby cart corral, while Kurogane revved the engine to life. Kurogane waited until Fai was back inside and buckled before he pulled out and drove the couple blocks back towards home.

Kurogane paused his car in Fai's driveway, allowing Fai to get out and gather his things. Once he had all his bags, Fai walked over to the driver's window, and smiled at Kurogane. "Thanks for today, Kuro. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow." Fai then walked over to his door, pulled out his own house key and let himself in. The door remained closed after he entered and Kurogane pulled out of the driveway and drove into his. Parking, he climbed out and locked up before heading inside. He brought in his groceries, before making a quick meal. After cleaning up, he followed his usual evening routine before he went to sleep. He wasn't sure what to expect from tomorrow's outing, but what he did know, it would surely not be the last.


End file.
